An appeal from the International Coalition for Papua (ICP) concerning the latest development in West Papua

We, Church leaders, human rights defenders, academics and international observers, gathered in Brussels for the International Consultation on Papua 2015 to discuss the situation of human rights in Papua. We also met in the European Parliament on 5 May 2015 upon the invitation of Ms Ana Gomes, Member of European Parliament, to discuss the current situation in Papua, with the presence of Chargé D’affaires of the Indonesia to the European Union and Indonesian diplomats from Brussels and Jakarta.

Dear Mr President, I am writing to you on behalf of TAPOL and the undersigned organisations, all of whom are deeply concerned about the absence of free and open access to the Indonesian provinces of Papua and West Papua (henceforth: Papua) for international journalists, humanitarian organisations and human rights observers. The media blackout in Papua denies the Papuan people the right to have their voices heard and allows human rights violations such as killings, torture and arbitrary arrests to continue with impunity.

On the 28th December in 2014 the government in Jakarta explained that there will be no new regions in Papua for now, as the existing regions had not yet succeeded in increasing the well-being of the society and would therefore only be a financial burden for the state-budget.
At the moment, Papua is divided into two regions, Papua and West Papua, these consist of several cities and regencies. As these regions had not succeeded in increasing the well-being of the inhabitants, the question was raised to further divide the existing regions into smaller regions.

„Tanah Mama“ is a movie made by Asrida Elisabeth and tells the story of Halosina, who lives in the Highlands of Papua and struggles to raiser her four children without the support of her husband.
Through the movie, Elisabeth tries to urge the government to not forget about Papua and to try and understand the people of Papua.
The movie was made in a local language of Papua and has Indonesian and English subtitles. It was released on the 8th of January.

Indonesia’s President Joko „Jokowi“ Widodo celebrated Christmas in Papua, together with his wife and children, the Trade Minister and the Cabinet Secretary.
He visited local markets and visited the groundbreaking ceremony of new markets in Jayapura and Sentani. He also promised to be back for the inauguration of the market in Sentani at the end of 2015.
Jokowi also broke his silence over the case in Paniai, where several people were shot. He explained his late comment by saying that he did not want to make a comment as long as he did not have a comprehensive account on the incident and as long as a statement would not solve the problem Furthermore, he explained, he was going to form a fact-finding team to obtain valid information and find the root of the problem to stop the violence in Papua. He said that it is important to not let these incidents happen again.
He also emphasized on the importance of having a dialogue and listening to the people of Papua in order to improve the situation in Papua.

President Joko Widodo must end all racism and discrimination in the Land of Papua, from impunity for human rights violators to restrictions on access for independent journalists to visit Papua, said publisher Deiyai.

Dr. Benny Giay, chair of the Deiyai publishing company, said that the racism and discrimination in question is highlighted by Filep Karma, a political prisoner in Abepura prison, in his book ‘As If we’re Half Animals: Indonesian Racism in the Land of Papua,’ launched today in Jayapura. It is 10 years to the day since Karma was jailed for a speech about the marginalisation of ethnic Melanesians in the Land of Papua on 1 December 2004.

We are alarmed at the reported killing of five Papuan teenagers in the highlands region of Paniai in Indonesia yesterday. While the exact circumstances are unclear as there are conflicting accounts of the events leading up to the killings. reportedly, a group of young people gathered outside a police station in the town of Enarotali yesterday to protest against the beating of a local boy by security forces on Sunday night. The police then reportedly opened fire and five teenage boys were killed. A number of other people were injured.